Spring and shock-absorber



R. BLL.

SPRING AND SHOCK ABSORBER.

APPLlcmou man mi. sa. :911. Marwan Dsc. 15.1919.

Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

2 SHEETS-sun l.

nwnfoz tkozmu R. BALL.

SPRING AND SHOCK ABSORBER. Amlcnnol min Mu. la. rsu. ningun) usc. 15, m9.

Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

2 SHEIS--SHLE 2 nowmmi :im: or momen immers.

smania am) snJCiLABSoiiii-Eit specification fier-tar# Patent Patented Apr. o, 1eme.

iippiieatimi nien January is, iai?, sei-iai Nb, A(143,100. `iienevwi December is, isis. sei-iai `in,tenias.

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, ROWLAND BALL, a subject of the King of Great'Britain residin at La Grange, in the 'county of ook and i tate of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring and Shock-Absorbers, of which the follow-- in is a' speciicationl Y l y invention relates to improvements in combined sprin and shock absorber.

The object o my invention is to provide a combined s ring and shock absorber for vehicles in w ich the cushioning means is air under pressure and having automatically controlled means for regulating the air pressure for changing the strength of the spring to conform with the', loadV carried by the vehicle and at the same time, maintaining a 'uniform spring action irrespective of the weight carried. 1

Another object of my invention is to provide a combined device of this character in Vwhich the air used as the spring medium serves as the shock absorbing medium in one direction, and the varying of the Spring medium necessarily `varies the shock absorbing pressure to correspond with the load and the shock absorbing medium in the other 'direction is air and has means for varyingv the air pressure according to the load Lcarried. A still further object ofmy invention is to provide a cheap, sim le and effective coinbined spring and s hoc absorber in lwhich the one feature depends upon the other, and\ l having certain details of structure and com-` bination of parts hereinafter more fully set `forth.

AIn the drawings, 0

i"Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved spring and shock absorber. A

f 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional 1'2" f -vieiv,.-takenon the'line '2,-42 of YF ig. 1.

i-ffEig. Bris-fia-V vertical :longitudinal sectional view takenatsi-ight angles-to 2 Spass, and by means of which the ca isadditionally he d upon lthe cylinder. hecap 6 is provided with a central upwardlyextendingcylinder 9 having an open end 10 as will e later described. The closed bottom 2 of the cylinder 1 is provided with an upwardly extending annular flange 11 in which is Asecured the tubular member 12 having an open upper, and closed lower end. One side of the bore of the mem-4 ber 12 has a groove 13 communicating4 with the passage 14 through the opening 15, and which has its upper `end in communication with the interior of the cylinder as shown in Fig. Within the c linder 1 is'a` hollow two ste portion 16. T e lower enlar ed portion l? closely fits the bore of the cy indei' arid-has a packing 18 at its lower end, forming a tight joint. The upper end of the enlarged portion is provided with a packing 19'j`whioh also engages the interior 4of the: cylinder and aids in forminga tight joint; :Tle upper reduced or stepped portion `20 of the hollow iston is also hollow and-of an eze-i terior diameter to tightly `fit lthelooreo'f the Acylindrical member 9, and extends some distance therein. The upper end of `the piston 20 is closed and has `a bali 21'tliereoii which extends into a socket 22 carried by the yoke 23 which extends outwardly through the slots 24 in the member =9 toi-the flower'end of which is secured the body of.thevehicle.

Extending through the-ball 21 isa passage 25 which is in communication with tl pi e 26 which leads to a pressure Vtank whic w11 be later described. Secured inthe'upper end of the cylinder-20 vis a tube 26 which extends downwardly into. the-meniber12 and has a closed lower Lend,V ,Oiie,- sidev of the tube isprovided with an opening 27 which communicates ,with the groove 13,

i whereby air, under resslireVpassesnto the v5piston,within the-.cylinden Below the; as -sage 2,5 `is 'a ballv'alvewhichjs ada to s, the numeral -1 ,s VL50 lower end*` ,2",f`providedf with. lateral iiailgesiz The upperen of. the-cylinder is provided with passegef fiinmeniaatfmgeivth the outside atmosphere, said message beine 100- irolledsby 4a needle-valve 2.9 to a1l`oyv,a ,.v(ry n er,

and'lxon opposite.sides`, by=meall$ 'Oflvvhicll bei" itcairzbgiipachedtog-the vehicle by means v i l ,o oiaboltsbrvfin anyedesired mannert--Themall discharge of :tirentofthecyLe near'upper 'landwirt-the: cylinder is externallyn so-as,tn regtil'atetheair,pressureI min. 11o $5 scewed, upontwhichis-serewed theg @The `space-31 above the `,enlaifgedpA cap 6 having ears 7 through which'the bolts i y oition o of the" piston and cap 6 is provided with a passage 32 controlled by a needle valve 33 to regulate the shock absorbing effect in the upward direction. The pipe 26 leads to a pressure tank in which air is stored by ii pum run by the engine or the exhaust, and whic has automatic means for maintaining a predetermined pressure in the tank accordin to the load to which the spring is being su jected and which pressure is likewise maintained in the cylinder. A packing 'di is carried by the cap 6 to forni a tight joint with the stepped portion 20 of the piston.

In operation, the com ressor is started, air is forced into the tan until the desired ressure is obtained therein, which is reguated by an automatic governor. The air asses through the pipe 2G and passage y the ball through the tube Q6', and is discharged through thc opening 27 to the groove 13. The air passes from the groove 13 to the passage 1l and into the piston. This air raises the piston 1T upwardly together with the load until the port. 27 has passed the opening 15 and the air is sui- Cient to maintain the load. The piston is free to move higher if the irregularities of the road require it, Vbut no more air will be admitted to the cylinder. If the piston is forced down by the irregularities of the road then air will be compressed to a. higher lpressure than that of the tank, as the check valve will close the passage 25 and prevent he air from returnino` to the tank and will also prevent air fbrom entering the cylinder. Any leakage of the air from the cylinder will cause the piston to gradually descend until the port 27 is in coimnunication with the roove 13, and in such an event, the air in t e cylinder is of a` pressure slightly less than that in the tank and the air will unseat the ball valve and flow in as before described and raise the piston to its normal position.

The space 31 contains the shock absorbing means and prevents the rapid upward movement of the piston and needle valve 33. The downward movement of the iiston is also re lated by the air pressure elow, and by t e vacuum in this space 31. The movement of the piston in either direction is regulated by the rapidity by which the air is allowedto escape by the valve 33. The needle valve 29 regulates the amount of air allowed to pass out of the cylinder 1 and this permits the regulation of the strength of the springs by simply setting the controlling valve to the desired pressure and the springs will automatically adjust themselves in this pressure. f

A. needle valve 17 is carried by the piston 17 so that air may pass from the interior of the piston to the space above so that the same can be supplied with air therefrom or from the outside' atmosphere, as before stated.. Inorder to prevent the up er end ofthe cylinder from collapsing W en the bolts 8 are tightened, the cap 6 is rovided with a downwardly extendin annu ar flange 6 engaging the inner perip ery of the cylinder.

-The lower end of the cylinder 1 is provided with a nipple 2 having a assage tli .-.i'etliioiigh and provided with a ba l valve closed by pressure within the cylinder. This nipple is adapted to be lattached to a. pump for forcing oil to `the cylinder without releasing the air pressure within the cylinder and whereby the cylinder is supplied with oil from time to time.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A' combined spring and shockV absorber` comprising afcylinder, a piston in the cylinder adapted. to support the load, means for maintaining a predetermined Huid pressure in the cylinder below the piston, means carried by the piston for cutting otl' the [luid pressure supply, and a cushioning means in the space in the cylinder above the piston.

2. A combined spring and shock absorber, comprising a cylinder, a )iston in the cylinder. adapted to support tlie load, means for maintaining a prei eter-mined fluid pressure supply in the cylinder below the iston, means carried by the piston for cutting off the fluid pressure su )ply by the movement of the piston, a cusnoning means in the space in the cylinder above the iston, there being a passage connecting said) s ace with the atmosphere, and a valve controIlJling said passa e.

3. i combined spring and shock absorber, comprising a cylinder, a piston therein adapted to support the load, means for maintaining a predetermined fluid pressure supply in the cylinder through the piston, means carried by the piston and operated by the movement thereof for cutting off the luid supply, said cylinder havin a passage communicating with the outsi e atmosphere, a valve controlling the passage between the cylinder and the outside atmosphere, a cushioning means in the space above the iston, there being a passage connecting sai s ace with the atmosphere, and a valve contro ling said passage. v

4. A combined spring and shock absorber, comprising a cylinder, an upwardly extend. ing reduced c lindrical member ca'rried by the upper en of the cylinder and in com munieation therewith, a hollow piston in the cylinder having a reduced upper end ittin in the cylindrical member, means carrie by the reduced upper end of the piston for sup orting the load, the reduced upper end of t e piston being connectedto a source of luid supply, said' iston being constructed and arranged to al ow the luid to pass below the same, means carried by the piston for cutting olf the fluid supply, when the piston has reached a determined point, a ball valve in the piston to prevent back flow of the fluid through the piston and a cushionin space 'surrounding the reduced portion o the piston.

5. A combined spring and shock absorber, comprising a cylinder, a hollow piston therein having a reduced upper end extending through the upper end of the cylinder and adapted to support the load, a fluid pressure supply pipe connected with the upper end of the reduced portion of the piston, a ball valve in said piston closed by pressure from within the piston, an upwardly extending cylindrical member carried by the cylinder and extending into the hollow piston, and a tube carried by the reduced portion of the piston and in communication with the Huid supply and entering the c lindrical member, and constructed to cut o the liuid supply after the iston has moved upwardly the determined distance.

6. A combined spring and shock absorber, comprising a cylinder, a hollow piston therein having a reduced upper end extending through the upper end o the cylinder adapted to support the load, a cylindrical member carried by the lower en'd of the cylinder` and extending into the hollow piston having a groove in one side extending `a portion of its length and communicating with the reduced upper end of the piston, a fluid supply, a tube carried by the piston communicating with the said fluid supply and having its closed lower end within the cylindriwhen the pressure therein is greater than the pressure in the fiuid supply pipe.

A combined spring and shock absorber, comprising a cylinder, attaching means carried by the lower end thereof, a cap for closing the upper end of the cylinder and having an upwardly extending cylindrical member in communication with the cylinder and oppositely arranged slots, a hollow piston in the cylinder having a reduced upper end extending into the cylinder, a yoke loosely mounted upon the upper end of the reduced portion of the piston within the cylindrical member and extending out through the slots for supporting the load, means for maintaining a predetermined fluid pressure in the cylinder below the piston to support the load, and a cushioning means in the space above the piston for retarding the upward movement thereof.

ROWLAN D BALL.

Witnesses:

HoMEn C. CoEN, C. R. MACFARLANE, 

